As a ghostwriter most of my original writings are not credited to me. But there are kind clients who permits me to use bits of the content. Here is one I can share.
In the land of Purskala, a young woman named Joa’nna is known to be the mightiest of the female warriors in her tribe. A woman of bravery and courage, pride and versatility. Her long black hair was all the way down to her thighs, she hasn’t cut it since she was sixteen years old. It was the day that she was given the mark of a warrior. The three red dots on her forehead, lined up in a horizontal manner. As she aged, she earned more and more marks that symbolizes her progressive growth as a warrior. Her combat skills, her number of kills, it would always increase to a certain point where she knew she will be rewarded with public recognition and an official mark to prove of her capabilities.
She wears a black tank top, she prefers to wear less clothing because it is easier for her to move that way. But she has a cloak for when the weather is very cold. Joa’nna also has a collection. Just around her neck is a human teeth necklace, wherein the number of teeth on the necklace rises whenever Joa’nna is able to annihilate a strong opponent or fallen warrior that is worthy to be part of her collection. She prefers to pull off the sharpest of their teeth and will keep it for remembrance or trophy. In terms of battle, she oftentimes no longer needed to turn to any weapon, as she has the strength to actually choke an average man with her bare hands. Her body is well-built because of the training that she underwent since her early years as a warrior.
Joa’nna can outrun majority of the villagers and fellow warriors in the land. She is fit for any extracurricular activity that is thrown at her and the queen of Purskala, Queen Kuri-la, is proud to have Joa’nna as an honorable member of her group of noble warriors. It was not everyday that they see a woman that is as gifted as Joa’nna is. She is unmatched on a one-on-one battle, it takes at least ten of the greatest warriors to take her down in a sparring match.
“Joa’nna!” Joa’nna’s best friend called her by name.
They were standing in the grain fields where Joa’nna is commonly found if she is not too occupied with sparring or battle. This is where she grew up since she was a little girl, and she likes the idea of relaxing in the middle of the grain field, letting the wind howl in her ears and the breeze pass by her, letting her feel that her ancestors are speaking to her, telling her that they are proud of what she has achieved.
The mighty warrior will turn to her best friend, Sa’khara. Among the female warriors that is sent to do big missions other than Joa’nna, it was no other than her best friend.
“Sa’khara, what brings you here in my safe place?” she asked but did not stand up from where she sat. Instead, Sa’khara will adjust and sit down on the soft company of the field.
“Today is the 17th year that our virtuous queen, Queen Kuri-la, is still missing. Warriors from every tribe in Purskala have been sent in search of her throughout the land. But they all return, bearing the unfortunate news that she is still unaccounted for.” Sa’khara shared the tragic news to her best friend. No one knew how or why it happened.
Queen Kuri-la is surrounded by guards in every corner of the palace. The assigned maids were all critically scrutinized before being allowed to serve the queen within her humble abode. No one saw anything the night that the queen was suspected to have been taken. It was just the following day that they discovered their kind queen have been taken from them.
No one has declared war to their land and no one seems to know that she was missing in the first place. The royal advisers took on the responsibility to keep the queen’s loyal subjects alive and well and among the warriors of all the tribes, they will hand-pick the best of the best, to go and search for the missing queen.
However, since then and until the present, there is no lead as to where Queen Kuri-la could be or what the kidnappers wanted in exchange for her.
“And today is also the day that they want to send me out with a small team to search for the queen.” Sa’khara said the part that she was certain Joa’nna would be interested to hear.
“They fear sending you away from Purskala, because you are our tower of defense. But what is a kingdom without its rightful leader? Her loyal advisers believe that she is still alive. Which is why I am going to take this assignment.”
“I trust that you will do better than the first ones who were sent.” Joa’nna gave her best friend words of encouragement. She will lean her forehead towards her Sa’khara’s, it was their way of bidding goodbye to a fellow warrior who will be away for a certain period of time.
But Sa’khara will pull away from her, “I did not come here to tell you goodbye, Joa’nna.” She says to clarify the intent of her arrival. It confused the mighty warrior for a moment, which is the cue for Sa’khara to fully explain what she meant. “I came here to invite you to come with me for this search. They said I can be team leader, but I want you to take the honors leading this team.”
The mighty warrior was taken aback by the sudden offer. She is not in any competition with her best friend, and she will respect not being chosen for this important task. She has no intention of taking the mantle. “You know I could never do this to you, Sa’khara. I would be more than honored to be your humble subordinate for this mission.” She tried to reason.
Her best friend will merely smile, “This is my decision to make, Joa’nna. I already picked out members for our team. Just take the lead and we can meet them right now.”
Because both of them are stubborn, Joa’nna knew when to just agree with her best friend. This was within reason, so she will take on the role of team leader. “Let’s meet them.”
~
Standing proud were three female warriors that Sa’khara had chosen from among the countless volunteers who wanted to help in search for the queen. The woman standing on the left has pale blonde hair tied to a bun, mostly she has collected black marks. She is of average height and is accompanied by a deathly aura. Her eyes are wide open the whole time, as if she never blinks.
“This is Kua. She is a warrior who has mastered the element of surprise and is known for giving her enemies a painless and swift death.” Sa’khara introduced. Kua saw the gaze she was given and she quickly assumed that they were talking about her, so she will nod at them as a form of greeting.
In the middle was a small woman with short red hair. She had many metal hair pins scattered across her hair. It does not seem to be there to fix her hair, it was more of a weapon she can grab if she needed to. She has collected blue marks since her joining of the warriors.
“This one is Elibala. She knows how to use all sorts of weapons and is very creative to make use of what she can for her advantage.”
Each color represents a certain professionalism between warriors. Red marks are for the dedicated front-liners who are either sent to battle or is assigned to protect the land from any attack. Black marks are for the warriors sent to annihilate, execute or assassinate a certain person, group of people or provided as backup against an army. Blue marks represent the calm warriors who has more experience with infiltration, espionage and in-charge of allowing an invasion to happen. Before the front-liners can attack a certain camp or fort, it is their job to make sure that the possible entrances are open for the front-liners to enter into.
On the right stood the last member of their team. Just like Sa’khara, this woman of brown hair has brown marks. She has fair skin complexion and has more scars than any of her fellow warriors.
“And lastly, we have Jub’yana. She is from the same tribe as I. We bear the burden of long-range attacks but is oftentimes involved with fire and explosion. You already know that though.” Sa’khara said to finish her introductions. “Ladies, this is Joa’nna, she will be the leader of this team.”
“No offense, but why did you choose them?” Joa’nna asked her best friend. The three could hear her, but she does not mind.
“Because they have a similar magical amulet that was given by the elders. Each of them are chosen by their family’s guardian animal.” Sa’khara gave a simple answer. The three women will raise the amulets that was around their necks, to show for proof.
Joa’nna will beam at the amulets, and then the chosen warriors that she will be leading. “It is a pleasure to meet you all. Let’s work together to bring the queen back.”
~
As they set out of the village, Sa’khara will tell Joa’nna the information that has been gathered for the past seventeen years of search. By far, their lead on the missing queen is at the far off village at the border of Purskala because most of the brave warriors that are sent would either come back injured or will not come back at all.
“I see. It seems like the perfect place to start our search.” Joa’nna agreed with the information she was given.
“The village is called Vush-hatim. It is the village that was founded by the great spirit Vush-ha. They thrive on rice plantation and they are protected by Vush-ha’s spirit. Giving them fair warnings prior to the time of danger.” Sa’khara added information. The rest of the warriors nodded.
“It would be safer if we go about separately and not tell them what we are really after.” Kua suggested to the leader. “If warriors return home injured or is never seen again, it is safe to assume that they are being taken or is attacked.”
“I agree.” Elibala says. “We can go in pairs or divided into two groups, but cannot be seen together. Too dangerous if we catch attention.”
Joa’nna finds their suggestion rather helpful and of truth. It is best that they carry on with this mission in stealth and great agility. “Alright, I will go with Sa’khara first. You three will follow in an hour. Sa’khara and I will be weary travelers looking for a place of rest.”
“And we will be warriors on our way home to the main land.” Jub’yana says.
“Then it’s settled.”
The first to enter the small village of Vush-hatim is the two best friends. The first place to go to would be the pub. It is the number one place where hearsays are famous and quickly passed on from one individual to another. Regardless of occupation and point of origin, tittle-tattle is a famous way of passing on knowledge about something or someone.
Right about now, they need a bit of information as to what and who they are dealing with. There has to be a stronghold in the village, or a strongman that the villagers fear.
“Travelers, welcome to the little village of the great Vush-ha. How may I serve you?” the kind bartender asked the two. He was holding on an empty glass that he was cleaning with a clean rag.
“I’ve never heard of that spirit before, what is she known for?” Joa’nna spoke, pretending to be unaware of what the village is all about. If they can give off an impression that she is there by coincidence and not for the missing queen, then there would be less attackers targeting them.
The bartender seem to believe what she was baiting him to believe as he nodded at her words, “The great Vush-ha provides us overflowing resources of our livelihood. Exporting over a thousand sacks of rice every single day has helped everyone in this village.” He answered and he will serve them both light type of liquor.
“What an amazing guardian spirit!” Sa’khara opines, for the bartender to fully believe them to be innocent. “We hope to be protected by her on our stay here.”
“Yes, the inns have well-improved for the past year. I assure you that you will have mighty rest for the night.” The bartender says proudly. “There is one more thing I would like to say; be careful not to lurk around in the darkest parts of the village. Rumors has it that warriors are being targeted for reasons not clear.”
“Hm, why is that?” Joa’nna inquired, taking the opportunity to ask if the bartender was the one who brought it up in the first place.
The bartender looked left and right before leaning close to them to whisper, “It was said that the queen of the main land, Purskala, was missing for over fifteen years. But most of us here does not believe that, as the kingdom is running smoothly as if she never left. There are just very few who thinks a conspiracy is going on.”
With that kind of information, both the female warriors are now certain that something is going on within the village.
“Where was the last time that an incident happened, regarding this rumor?” Joa’nna added a follow-up question before they make their exit.
“I believe there is an abandoned stable right by the ranch, but you ought to keep your distance from there.”
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